Sir Simon Peter Edmund Cosmo William Towneley ( Koch de Gooreynd; 14 December 1921 – 11 November 2022) was a British author who served as

Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire. The Lord Lieutenant is the King's personal representative in each county of the United Kingdom. Historically the Lord Lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's ...

from 1976 to 1997.

Early life and education

Towneley was born in

St George Hanover Square St George Hanover Square was a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish accompanied the building of the St George's, Hanover Square, Church of St George's, Hanover Square, ...

, London, on 14 December 1921, as the elder son of a British father of Belgian stock, Alexander Louis Wynand Koch de Gooreynd, and a British-Belgian mother, Priscilla Reyntiens. His mother was the daughter of Lady Alice Josephine, second daughter of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon, and Maj. , a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

. His mother was asked to give birth as quietly as possible, as

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (;

r 1859 R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars''. The lette ...

– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's Prime Minister of Poland, prime minister and foreign minister durin ...

was downstairs giving a piano recital at the time. The family name was changed to Worsthorne when his father attempted to enter British politics, but his parents divorced soon after. His younger brother was

Sir Peregrine Worsthorne Sir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne (22 December 1923 – 4 October 2020) was a British journalist, writer, and broadcaster. He spent the largest part of his career at the ''Telegraph'' newspaper titles, eventually becoming editor of ''The Sunday ...

, the journalist. Priscilla Reyntiens remarried to

Montagu Norman, 1st Baron Norman Montagu Collet Norman, 1st Baron Norman DSO PC (6 September 1871 – 4 February 1950) was an English banker, best known for his role as the Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944. Norman led the bank during the toughest period in m ...

in January 1933, and the brothers spent their teenage years at his house in

Campden Hill Campden Hill is a hill in Kensington, West London, bounded by Holland Park Avenue on the north, Kensington High Street on the south, Kensington Palace Gardens on the east and Abbotsbury Road on the west. The name derives from the former ''Camp ...

. They were brought up as Roman Catholics, but did not attend denominational schools. He was educated at

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

and

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...

. His education was interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and he returned to Worcester afterward to complete a music

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

. He later changed his surname to Towneley Worsthorne and finally Towneley by deed poll, on 28 May 1955.

Career

During the Second World War, Worsthorne served in the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

, receiving a commission as a second lieutenant in December 1942. Early in 1944, he was captured near the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri" ...

river in Italy and spent the remainder of the war as a

PoW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

. From 1949 until 1955, he lectured in the history of music at Worcester College. In 1954 (under the name Simon Towneley Worsthorne) he published ''Venetian Opera in the 17th Century'', a seminal study of the field, which played a significant role in the remarkable revival of the Venetian opera repertory in the latter 20th century. In Towneley's youth, Dyneley Hall in

Cliviger Cliviger is a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley, in Lancashire, England. It is situated to the southeast of Burnley, and northwest of Todmorden. According to the 2011 census, the parish has a population of 2,238. Although the whole parish ...

(near

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, had been the home of his grandmother (Alice Reyntiens), but in 1952 he inherited it along with a landholding known as the Worsthorne Estate. This is a portion of the Towneley Estate that was divided between the three daughter's of

Charles Towneley Charles Townley Royal Society, FRS (1 October 1737 – 3 January 1805) was a wealthy English country gentleman, antiquary and collector, a member of the Towneley family. He travelled on three Grand Tours to Italy, buying antique sculpture, vase ...

in 1885. However it is not the part inherited by Towneley's great-grandmother. The Worsthorne Estate was inherited by Towneley's grandmother, in 1921, from her cousin

Cosmo Gordon-Lennox Cosmo Charles Gordon-Lennox (17 August 1868 – 31 July 1921), whose stage name was Cosmo Stuart, was a British actor and playwright of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He became known as an actor in the 1890s, but by the turn of the centu ...

. He was a Lancashire County Councillor between 1961 and 1964. Between 1969 and 1986, Towneley was the first

chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

at the

Northern Ballet Theatre Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The compan ...

. And he was also a director of

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

from 1981 until 1992. He was also an important figure in the establishment of the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

in 1972, and remained a governor there for many years.

Appointments

Towneley was a Justice of the peace for Lancashire from 1956. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient office, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

for 1971 and

from 1976 to 1996. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the

Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry The Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry (DLOY) was a yeomanry unit of the British Army from 1798 to 1992. Originally raised as part-time cavalry for home defence and internal security, the regiment sent mounted infantry to serve in the Second Boer ...

from 1979 to 1988. He was a member of the Council of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

between 1986 and 1996. He was a trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

from 1988 until 1993. Towneley was elected as a member of the

Roxburghe Club The Roxburghe Club is a Bibliophilia, bibliophilic and Text publication society, publishing society based in the United Kingdom. Origins The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe ...

in 1992. He was also a trustee of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust and a member of the council of the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

Honours

Towneley was appointed a Knight of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was founded in the Crusader states, crusader K ...

in October 1976. He was made a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

. He was also awarded the Catholic honour of being appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

. In 1990, Towneley was only the fifth person to be awarded a companionship of the

Personal life

Towneley married his second cousin Mary Fitzherbert, the third of six children of Cuthbert Fitzherbert, from a well-off recusant English Roman Catholic family. She was a keen endurance equestrian, repeating

Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...

's ride from London to York and opening up what became known as the

Mary Towneley Loop The Mary Towneley Loop is a circular route that forms part of the Pennine Bridleway National Trail, along the borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The loop was opened in 2002, the first section of the Pennine Bridleway. It is named in memory ...

on the

Pennine Bridleway The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England. It runs roughly parallel with the Pennine Way but provides access for horse riders and cyclists as well as walkers. The trail is around long, extending from Derbyshire to Cumbri ...

.Obituary: Lady Towneley
''Daily Telegraph'', March 2001 The couple had seven children; one son and six daughters: *Alice Mary Towneley, born 1956, married Michael O'Neill in 1986. *Charlotte Mary Towneley, born 1957, married Arthur French in 1986. * Katharine Mary Towneley, born 1958, married William Grant in 1985, writer. *Peregrine Henry Towneley, born 1962, married Sarah Trimble Macleod in 1998. *Victoria Mary Towneley, born 1964, married Edward Bowen-Jones in 1992. *Cosima Cecilia Towneley, born 1967, Lancashire County Councillor. *Frances Teresa Towneley, born 1969, married Daniel Scoular in 1997. At Dyneley, the couple employed

George Pace George Gaze Pace, (31 December 1915 – 23 August 1975) was an English architect who specialised in ecclesiastical works. He was trained in London, and served in the army, before being appointed as surveyor to a number of cathedrals. Mo ...

to design an extension to the hall, which included the creation of a tiny oratory, reputedly the smallest in the country. Each Sunday for many years, a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest wearing pre-

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

vestment Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...

s thought to have come from

Whalley Abbey Whalley Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Whalley, Lancashire, England. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey was largely demolished and a country house was built on the site. In the 20th century the house was modified ...

, would say

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in it. A long-time member of the International Dendrology Society, Towneley supported many local horticultural projects and created an impressive garden at the hall. Lady Towneley died in 2001 from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, at the age of 65.

Death

Towneley died on 11 November 2022, at the age of 100 at Dyneley Hall in Cliviger.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Towneley, Simon 1921 births 2022 deaths People educated at Stowe School Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Bertie family English people of Belgian descent English people of Dutch descent Schuyler family English Roman Catholics Lord-lieutenants of Lancashire High sheriffs of Lancashire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order British Army personnel of World War II King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry officers English justices of the peace Northern Ballet Theatre People associated with the Royal Northern College of Music Trustees of the British Museum British men centenarians Simon People from Cliviger Military personnel from the City of Westminster